spermatium

American  

[spur-may-shee-uhm] / spɜrˈmeɪ ʃi əm /

noun

• spermatia
  plural

1. Botany. the nonmotile male gamete of a red alga.

2. Mycology. a minute, colorless cell, of certain fungi and lichens, believed to be a male reproductive body, developed within spermogonia.

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spermatium British  

/ spɜːˈmeɪtɪəm /

noun

1. a nonmotile male reproductive cell in red algae and some fungi

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spermatium Scientific  

/ spər-mā′shē-əm /

• spermatia
  plural

1. A nonmotile cell in red algae and certain ascomycete fungi that functions as a male gamete.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• spermatia
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of spermatium

1855–60; < New Latin < Greek spermátion, equivalent to spermat- (stem of spérma ) sperm ¹ + -ion -ium

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spermatia

As isopods scuttle along a male seaweed stalk, they are bombarded by spermatia, which are coated in a tacky, mucuslike substance.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 28, 2022

They do this by inadvertently collecting the algae’s sticky spermatia, its equivalent of pollen, on their bodies and sprinkling it around as they move from frond to frond in search of food and shelter.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022

Like a powder-coated bee spreading pollen from plant to plant, isopods spread spermatia throughout a tide pool as they travel between seaweed clumps.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 28, 2022

Because Gracilaria gracilis produce spermatia that, like pollen grains, cannot move on their own, Dr. Valero wondered if the isopods might be playing a role in the spermatia’s dispersal.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022

At other times the spermatia-bearing surface covers exclusively certain portions of the fungus, especially the inferior lobes, imparting thereto a very bright orange colour, which is communicated by the layer of spermatia, unmixed with spores.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt) Cooke

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